All of these are great. I'll say the obvious which is Cutco and only because they offer lifetime sharpening and they come to your house and do it for you. Hard to beat that and you don't have to worry about F'ing up your knife sharpening it yourself.

Depending on the model, you're looking at $150-$200 for a full sized chef's knife. I got my Ken Onion as an open box (behind glass) display model at Williams Sonoma for $112. Sur la Table routinely has a model or 2 on sale.

8-Inch chef's knife; the perfect all-purpose knife for chopping and slicing both meats and vegetables Features layered Damascus steel with a striking, hand-hammered finish (known as 'Tsuchime' in Japanese) Hand-hammered finish reduces drag when cutting, keeping foods from sticking to the knife blade Premium pakkawood handle nestles comfortably into the curves of the palm and allows for a variety of comfortable and secure grips Dishwasher safe; hand washing and air drying recommended; limited lifetime warranty

re: Recommendation for Good Kitchen Knife(Posted by BigJake on 1/14/13 at 1:07 pm to SUB)

If you're in Baton Rouge go to Ducote's. They have a huge selection of knives, but best of all they have sharpeners that work beautifully. You don't need to spend $100 on a knife. If you aren't in BR find a restaurant supply place near you and buy a couple of mid range priced knives and a good sharpener.

Go straight to the source where local restaurants buy their wares. Your dad will never use a knife as much as the ones in my industrial kitchen, and I spent $12 bucks on my favorite knife and sharpen it with a $16 sharpener. Beautiful!